Africa’s largest airline says it has put a number of health and safety measures in place to help combat the spread of the virus
ETHIOPIAN AIRLINES, the continent’s largest airline, has announced it has suspended flights to over 80 destinations due to the impact of COVID-19.
In a statement the airline said that the decision was made in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.
The airline said that local destinations are still operational, but the number of passengers has dropped by approximately 50 percent.
However, cargo flights around the world will continue and the airlines stressed that these flights would not risk employee’s exposure to COVID 19 infection.
Health and safety measures
Ethiopian outlined a series of health and safety measures it had put in place to help combat the virus which has adversely impact air travel across the world.
Among others, disinfection of all work areas, strictly adhering to social distancing among employees and all associates of the company, regular measurement of body temperature and instituting a culture of proper hand washing.
“So far, we have consumed more than half a million each (gloves and masks) and we have more than 300,000 each in our stock so that there is no shortage. We have signed a contract with multiple suppliers for a continuous supply of as many as we require,” the statement added.
The airline said it had made deliveries of coronavirus testing kits donated by Chinese billionaire businessman Jack Ma to 51 African countries and some European countries.
‘Helping save lives’
“We are helping save lives, and this is one of the greatest intrinsic satisfaction in life, for which our brave men and women are proud of,” the statement concluded.
In a separate statement the airline announced it was temporarily closing all its ticket offices in Ethiopia from March 30 and urged customers to use digital options such as its mobile app, website, chatbot, e-mail and social media.
Tewolde GebreMariam, Ethiopian Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “We have been implementing the COVID-19 containment strategies in line with the globally recommended guidelines to protect the safety and wellbeing of our customers and employees.”
He continued: “We have decided to temporary suspend our services at our domestic ticket offices to effectively implement social distancing thereby protect our customers and employees from the risk of infection. We have also waived service charges. Our services will be available in various digital options.”
Source: The Voice
